CoBRA jawan killed by Maoists in Purulia

PURULIA/KOLKATA: In an ambush similar to that in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada where 76 CRPF jawans were killed, Maoists tried to trap and eliminate a CoBRA team in Bengal's Purulia on Saturday. One CoBRA jawan was killed and four injured after the Maoists exploded an IED and fired on the team from vantage positions in nearby hillocks. The CoBRA team was returning after a night-long operation.

The injured were airlifted to Kolkata and admitted in a private hospital. Two of them are critical. "One of our CoBRA jawans succumbed to his injuries and four others are undergoing treatment," said IG, CRPF, T B Rao.

Acting on a tip-off that Maoists were camping in the area, Raghunathpur SDPO Dyutiman Bhattacharjee went on a night-long raid with a CoBRA company (40 personnel) of 202 Battalion in Jhalda. The security forces combed the hamlets and forest stretches in the area but the Maoists could not be traced.

Early Saturday, the Maoists attacked soon after the elite assault team left Dekai village. "The Maoists trapped the force," admitted a senior police officer. The IED blast by Maoists was followed by bullets fired by Maoists hiding in the forest. The security personnel were taken by surprise.

"It could be a rerun of the Dantewada massacre. The Maoists planned the ambush at a place where they reached before us and held strategically better positions," said an officer.